Savage Homecoming recap

Deetz leads alien ships to Earth and demands Jason Burke, driving Omega Force home to protect the planet and evacuate Taryn and her parents. The hunt leads to abandoned A'arcoon, a militant descendant society called the Deliverers, and evidence that Deetz is helping them extend a power-disrupting weapon. Jason rescues their sick infants, wins the cooperation of officer De'Elefor Ka, and forces the last Traveler ship to surrender, but Deetz escapes with two Korkaran mercenaries. Anticipating another strike on Earth, the Phoenix races back and pursues Deetz to Alcatraz. Lucky kills Deetz, while Crusher defeats both mercenaries and survives severe injuries. Earth learns of the Phoenix and its alien crew. Taryn and her parents assume new identities on Earth, Jason and Taryn end their relationship, and Omega Force departs to resume its work. The surviving Travelers' future and Deetz's unexplained interest in the DL7 remain open.

Previously: The Phoenix's original crew remains missing. The wider question of synthetic personhood is unresolved, and Twingo's exposure to a cartel remains an open danger. Bondress is still at large, along with a scientist who escaped from a genetics program. These unresolved matters continue beyond the start of Omega Force's next mission.

So far this book: During a break on Fournier Prime, Jason learns that three advanced ships have appeared over American cities. Deetz takes control of the broadcasts, demands Jason, and turns Earth into leverage against him. Every member of Omega Force volunteers for the return flight. The Phoenix destroys one hostile ship over Washington, but Deetz escapes and the other two vessels vanish without a normal slip-drive trail. Jason evacuates Taryn and her parents, Ed and Jess, after their connection to him draws armed attention. The family is placed aboard the Diligent, though Taryn secretly returns to the Phoenix and remains with Jason as the crew follows markings linked to A'arcoon. The planet proves to be a deserted, technologically advanced world whose cities have stood empty for centuries. Omega Force recovers a recording device from a concealed facility. Deetz then contacts the Phoenix through a probe, confirms that he expected Jason to investigate A'arcoon, and leaves a trace toward another region. Jason immediately resumes the pursuit.

So far this book: Deetz's trail leads the Phoenix into a trap where an unfamiliar weapon shuts down every powered system, including Lucky. The Diligent rescues the drifting ship, and Twingo eventually restores both the Phoenix and Lucky. At Torestellia, Jason confirms that Deetz is working with A'arcooni associates, but a dangerous pursuit through the city ends with Deetz escaping and Confederated forces identifying the Phoenix. Crisstof suspends Omega Force after the incident, prompting Jason to reject their partnership. Deetz then destroys a colony by disabling its power and demands the Phoenix's DL7 hull. Stolen samarskite suggests that he intends to extend the shutdown effect with a maser. The recording recovered on A'arcoon supplies the larger history: De'Astor Ka's cult seized six advanced ships from alien environmental reformers and used them against its own world. The cult seeks to eliminate industrial societies in the name of environmental balance. Jason's crew concludes that Deetz has directed these descendants toward Earth and promised them a more powerful version of their weapon.

So far this book: Omega Force boards a damaged Traveler vessel emerging from A'arcoon and finds its adult crew dying aboard an irradiated generation ship. The team saves thirty-eight sick infants and captures one officer. The prisoner explains that his people call themselves Deliverers and have inherited a mission to attack industrialized worlds. Deetz repaired their flagship, selected targets, and promised improved weapons. After seeing evidence of A'arcoon's destruction, the officer identifies himself as De'Elefor Ka and agrees to guide Jason to the last Traveler ship. His testimony and the historical archive persuade Supreme Commander Ta'Arlek Ka to surrender after the Phoenix disables his vessel. Crisstof arranges care for ninety-four ill survivors and discusses a possible return to A'arcoon. The military threat ends, but Deetz escapes confinement with two Korkaran mercenaries, destroys his way clear in a runabout, and blocks tracking with a tachyon bomb. De'Elefor and Ta'Arlek identify Breaker's World as one of his supply points, and the Phoenix turns back to the hunt with De'Elefor still aboard.

By the end: Jason decides that Deetz will seek revenge on Earth after losing the Travelers, so the Phoenix abandons the Breaker's World lead and races home. Deetz ambushes the ship in the asteroid belt with a maser-enhanced disruptor, reaches Earth first, and attacks civilian and nuclear-related targets. The Phoenix prevents an antimatter strike on a reactor, chases his runabout across the planet, and rams it down at Alcatraz. Jason, Lucky, and Crusher pursue the fugitives on the island. Crusher remains outside to face the two Korkaran mercenaries in a traditional unarmed fight, kills both, and suffers grave injuries. Inside the prison, Jason disables Deetz's arm and leg after an ambush. Lucky kills the synth before he can explain why the DL7 matters. Omega Force destroys the bodies and withdraws before American forces arrive. Public recordings expose the Phoenix and its nonhuman crew, while Jason gains the nickname Armored Angel. Taryn, Ed, and Jess receive protected identities and remain on Earth. Jason and Taryn separate because their lives cannot be joined. The Phoenix departs with Omega Force intact, leaving the Travelers' future and the DL7's hidden importance unresolved.

Deetz and his two Korkaran guards are dead after the confrontation at Alcatraz. Jason and Lucky remain operational, while Crusher survives serious wounds and receives treatment from Doc. Earth has suffered attacks, casualties, and public exposure to the Phoenix and its nonhuman crew. The Diligent gives Taryn, Ed, and Jess altered appearances, documents, and protected identities so they can remain on Earth. Jason and Taryn accept that neither can live the other's life and separate despite still loving one another. The Phoenix leaves Earth with Omega Force intact and ready to resume work. Crisstof and Jason have repaired their partnership enough to cooperate again. The surrendered Travelers are no longer an immediate military danger, but their medical care, legal status, and possible return to A'arcoon remain unsettled. Deetz dies before explaining his claim that the DL7 contains something important, leaving the ship's significance unresolved.